uSwitch Mobiles

BlackBerry range gets new location features

Canadian manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) has developed a new location service for its BlackBerry line up which does not require that the host mobile has any built-in GPS features.

Instead, the BlackBerry will be able to work out roughly where it is located based on its relative position when compared to the location of nearby mobile network base stations.

RIM says that this is not as precise an art as GPS, which uses satellites for accurate location, but it is still perfectly adequate if you want to work out what local businesses and amenities are available in the surrounding area.

If GPS connectivity is unavailable on your BlackBerry then you will still have access to location-based searching thanks to this new innovation.

RIM is hoping that third party app developers will take advantage of this technology and offer location-based features which do not rely on GPS.

The business phone specialist has already planned to add the base station triangulation feature to its Maps app and if you have version 5.0 of the BlackBerry operating system (OS) or upwards you will be able to take advantage of it in the near future.

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